Party Preparations

I am preparing for my first SU party as presenter outside my house today - there is such a lot to carry!  However, hopefully it will all go OK.  The hostess wants some scrapbooking stuff (hhmmm) and some easter containers ( I will do a simple box with handle), and perhaps some cards.

This is the page I came up with first:

Master Jack, starring role!  This one is in A4 Landscape. I like clean and simple, but this seemed to be too clean!

Second attempt came together better - it is the 12 x 12 page.

Then I made two cards with the same colour scheme and papers, and ideas:

See you soon!

Round, not square

I decided to have a go at a round card.  I have had my SU roundy, cutting thingy for a while now - Circle Scissor it called, and have used it a few times, but not really played with it much.  I cut out the card in SU Kraft, and then two more circles, each one smaller than the last, in Orange Bazzil and DP.  I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval for the background card and some SU punches for the sentiment, my DP's are from SU and then flower is cut from one of these. The jewel centre is from Prima.  There are Annabelle sprinkles around the edge, and the bird is from the SU set, Notably Ornate, stamped in Purely Pomegranate. That bird looks less pink in real light, but I had to take it a night on my desk and it's not a good photo.

I am entering this in two challenges: Colour Throwdown #136 (orange, soft sky and kraft) and There She Goes #101 - a card without angles (but I missed this one). I based this card design on last weeks Mojo Monday sketch (sort of...). Have to go and watch Q and A - riveting watching on a Monday night!

Always too late.......

....AND I got up early for a Saturday to complete them! I'm talking about Waltzing rodents sketch Challenge this week, which was to make three "itty-bitty cards"! Never mind, I will enter them in Let's Ink it Up's challenge for Easter Creations and the Tuesday Throwdown - Spring challenge #43 anyway.

My three little gift cards are for Easter - and I made them using WMS stamps from several different sets: Bitty Banners, Líl Buddies, Eggstra Special and Nestie Eggs.  I embossed the eggs with different EP's and cut them out with scissors despite the fact that I now have the Nestability to do this (forgot!), stamped the chick from the Líl Buddies set and coloured it in with the Copics, and then fussy cut them out and stamped the sentiments in various SU inks to match the colour schemes of each.  I added the flower to match, and used my Martha Stewart edge punches to liven up the backing papers.

The background card is a piece of yellow Gemstone, and the small card blanks are commercial. I find that they don't fold well though - you have to redo them with the bone folder several times to get them to fold properly.

I will make several more of these, as I have already got several more eggs embossed and ready to go - I was trying out different embossing powders with this stamp - and more chicks and banners already stamped out.  They make up quickly.  I had to desist from working on them last night to go and cook dinner, and that's why I'm late for the rodent challenge- spent all day yesterday on relief teaching work! At least I get paid for that I suppose but it doesn't seem fair to miss out on crafting time! Enough moaning, the day is still nice outside so I will get moving and go out!

Second Edition (aka several hours later):

I will add this to the Craft Us Crazy - Easter/Spring theme challenge:

I had a box (one of many saved) and thought that as I was making a few of these, I might as well make a box to put them in! So I dressed up the old chocolate box and added the cards!

Appropriate name for a (small) box of chockies!

Five cards fit inside easily

The front of the box! The ribbon is recycled Christmas ribbon. 

Oh what a beautiful day!!

Talk about the weather - today as a corker of an autumnal day, sunny and warm.  AND tomorrow is apparently going to be better!!

I made a card this afternoon for several challenges: Aud Sentiments wants a child's card, the Lollipop Ladies #17 are working with lovely pastel macaroons + gloss, and the Sweet Stop  #SSS102 sketch challenge looked interesting. So, as I have just purchased my very first Magnolia Tilda stamp (Hello Butterfly) I combined them to create this!

I tried to match the macaroon colours, and the gloss is on the Annabelle sparklers and the sentiment banner, which are from WMS.  The images is coloured with Copics, and the background papers are from the Cosmo Cricket set DeLovely. The card is folded Bazzil, and the flower is Prima, while the ribbon and ribbon slide (SU, I think) were stash. I cut the edge on the SU Regal Rose mount card with a Martha Stewart punch.

I cut out Tilda using the CB and an oval scallop nestbility. Outside my green ink looks like the wrong green, but inside it looked OK  Why does that happen!! It is SU Wild Wasabi. The gloss on the banner was still wet so I had to lay the card onto the outside table, rather than sit it up.

Autumn's biting

Bbrrr, its cold today.  First time I have had the heater on downstairs as I work this afternoon.  They (the neighbours) are sailing in the bay outside - last race for the summer!  Daylight saving ended today as well and I got an extra hour to lay in bed this morning.

I have been brooding this card for a while - it is a birthday card for my SIL.  I had made the flowers from tissue paper by cutting out lots of scalloped circles with my SU punch, and then spraying them with my bottle of Peppermint Stick Glimmer Mist and they do shimmer! When they were dry I scrunched them up and then threaded them into a pearl brad each. I was going to enter this is two challenges today - Tuesday Throwdown #42, which is simply 'Florals', and Papercraft Star #39 which is a recipe card, but the second one has finished - when is 9.00 pm Sunday Eastern time in America in our time?  I thought the USA was behind us in time...........I always miss this one! Never mind, Tuesday Throwdown it is!

ED: forgot about Crop Stop's "shiny" challenge, so will enter this in that as well!  the flowers are shiny and the pearls certainly have a lovely glow! 

I used papers from a mini deck from Cosmo Cricket - DeLovely - and my florishes were cut from the Sizzix dies.  The card is Baja Breeze and the mounting card is Regal Rose, both from SU.  I used a small pennant from WMS, and stamped it in Baja ink as I did for the sentiment which is from WMS Frame It. The ribbon is from the stash and is folded and stitched to form a bunch among the flowers.  Three pearls complete the card.  Bye the way, the sailors were second over the line and very happy when they came home!

Meet Meg and Tiddles

The rats that belong to my eldest granddaughters! They have one each although they seem to spend most of their time with the eldest.  This was taken at the little birthday celebration we were having for our daughter's birthday yesterday.  I was helping wash up and turned around and they were there!

I made a card this afternoon for the Creative Cottage Challenge - use white/blank space. This is to be their last challenge in this format, so we wait with baited breath to find out what's next! I will also enter it in the Verve March Diva Dare - colour me Spring.  Now I made this card, photographed it and then decided it need another mount, so remade it and photographed it again and now I cannot decide which one is better - so I will put up both and get you to tell me which one is best and why, please. 

Can you see the difference?  

Anyway, I made this by using my CB and a Coulture Creations Embossing folder - Victorian - and then using a soft pink Copic and carefully going over the raised bits with it to highlight them (saw it in a magazine and thought I can do that!) and then added a freebie tag from the English magazine Creative Cardmaking Issue 24 on which I had stamped on the sentiment using a Verve stamp. I sponged both the tag and the backing paper with SU Pink Pirouette ink before I embossed the sentiment with Sparkling Ebony EP (and it does have a real sparkle) and then popped on a Prima rose.  Three little pearls from Annabelle's sprinkles collection and it was done.  Until I decided to add the mount - in a deeper pink. All the card is from SU - confetti white, blossom blush and regal rose.